The Best E-mail Subject Lines

Writing e-mail subject lines is like inventing a pick up line to say to someone you’ve got your eye on at a party.

It’s got to be quick and compelling. It should be interesting and leave the person curious to know more about you.If your subject line does its job, the reader “lets you in” so to speak and clicks on the subject line to read the rest of your e-mail.Find Out Who’s Opening Your Emails on What Devices

The key question is, what devices are your recipients opening your e-mails on? Ask your ESP about e-mail client analysis to identify the percentage of your contacts who open your e-mails on Smartphones. Small screens mean short subject lines are more effective.

The best e-mail subject lines contain one or more of these elements:

1. Short subject lines

2. Controversial headlines

3. Numbers and counts

4. Actionable subject lines

5. Timely or urgent

Keep it short and simple. People only have so much time available and your e-mail isn’t their priority. Let people know what your e-mail is about upfront. Give them a benefit as to why they should open it. “The Truth About ___” subject lines are among the most successful.

Controversial “Four Foods NEVER to Eat” – I’ve heard that this is the most successful headline of all time for the fitness industry. Not sure who wrote it first, but Dan Kennedy reported that one of the most popular speakers on the 1990 prime’s ‘Success Tour’ was a guy who did an hour on: “The 10 Foods Never to Eat.”

People love to be told what not to do. You can use this in any industry. For example, if you’re an auto dealer, just change “foods” and “to eat” for, “cars” and “to buy.”

Other great headline examples:

• Exercise Tips To Ignore!• 6 bits of exercise advice that will land you in the cemetery• 4 bizarre ways patio furniture can kill you suddenly• 6 things you probably don’t know about cat food

Be actionable. You can do this in your e-mail subject line – just be careful not to use those words that trigger spam. “Make your first scrapbook the easy way – this week,” “Fix your hair loss problem fast. Learn how…”

Ask questions. Sometimes, asking a question can prompt someone to open your e-mail. For example, you could say:

• How Can One Person Feed 1,000?• How Do We Fill

About the author: Roy Preece has been teaching online sales techniques successfully for more than 10 years. Roy successfully trains people on e-mail marketing, web marketing, article writing, affiliate marketing and joint ventures. For more information, visit http://emailmarketingbuddy.com/